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The authors report that transglutaminase 2 is upregulated in the perinecrotic region of glioblastoma and triggered mesenchymal transdifferentiation of glioma stem cells by regulating master transcription factors, such as C/EBPβ, TAZ, and STAT3. [Cancer Res]
Abstract

Researchers report that the miR-302/367 cluster, a previously identified potent pluripotency regulator, is upregulated in prostate tumors. The forced expression of the miR-302/367 cluster accelerated the in vitro and in vivo growth of prostate cancer (PCa) cells and their resistance to androgen ablation, whereas the knockdown of the miR-302/367 cluster using anti-sense RNA suppressed the incidence of formation, growth rate and endpoint weight of PCa cell tumors. [Oncogene]
Abstract

Scientists provide the first evidence that CSCs are one of the key sources of cancer-associated fibroblasts in the tumor niche. They generated CSC-like cells by treating mouse induced pluripotent stem cells with conditioned medium from breast cancer cell lines. The resulting cell population expressed both CSC and pluripotency markers, and the sphere-forming CSC-like cells formed subcutaneous tumors in nude mice. [Sci Rep]
Full Article

Scientists determined the biological roles and clinical significance of miR-500a-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identified whether miR-500a-3p has an effect on the activity of JAK/STAT3 signaling in HCC. miR-500a-3p was dramatically elevated in HCC tissues and cells and high expression of miR-500a-3p correlated with poor overall and relapse-free survival in HCC patients. [J Exp Clin Cancer Res]
Full Article

The authors examined the apoptotic effect of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and taxanes using flow cytometry and Annexin-V-PE staining. The co-treatment with taxanes and TRAIL enhanced significantly the apoptosis in CD44+/CD24− cells only in the PC3 cell line but not in DU145 cells. [Int J Mol Sci]
Full Article

Investigators demonstrated that forced expression of CD133 increased the expression of IL-1beta and its downstream chemokines, namely, CCL3, CXCL3 and CXCL5, in U87MG glioma cells. Although there were no apparent changes in cell growth and sphere formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, in vitro trans-well studies and in vivo tumor xenograft assays showed that neutrophil recruitment was markedly increased by the ectopic expression of CD133. [Mol Cells]
Abstract

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is awarding 90 new grants totaling $23.5 million in its summer grant cycle to support the brightest minds in the pediatric cancer field. [St. Baldrick’s Foundation]
Press Release

An Iranian disaster-medicine researcher who was sent to prison in April 2016 is due to go to trial, on charges of “collaboration with a hostile government”. Ahmadreza Djalali has been warned by the Iranian court that he may be facing a death sentence, according to his wife, Vida Mehrannia. [Nature News]
Editorial

Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan successfully lured the high-profile biennial conference to the Middle East for the first time — part of Jordan’s ongoing push to transform itself into a regional research powerhouse. The country hopes to emphasize the power of science to transcend politics and war in the increasingly volatile Middle East. [Nature News]
Editorial

After a nearly year-long investigation into anonymous allegations of data and image falsification in numerous papers, a University of Tokyo committee announced it had confirmed that one research group falsified images and graphs in five papers. The panel cleared five other research groups of wrongdoing. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

In June 2016, investigators at the University of Georgia in Athens concluded that Azza El-Remessy, a faculty member who studied the impact of diabetes on the eye, had committed misconduct and recommended she be terminated. El-Remessy hired a lawyer to dispute the findings, but the following October she gave up her challenge after the university paid her $100,000—essentially to leave. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial